The House Government Affairs Committee released a report containing new findings on the status of children with mental health needs in juvenile detention at a hearing on July 7, 2004. The report, "Incarceration of Youth Who Are Waiting for Community Mental Health Services in the United States," was the result of a nationwide survey of juvenile detention centers that was initiated by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA). Sen. Collins and Rep. Waxman also co-sponsored the hearing.

To view the complete text of the report, click here.

To view Representative Waxman's testimony from the hearing, click here.

The report release and the issue in general received coverage in newspapers across the country, including an Associated Press release and articles in the New York Times and Boston Globe. Click here to view the New York Times article.

The report builds on two preceding government studies. An April 2003 General Accounting Office (GAO) report,
"Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice: Federal Agencies Could Play a Stronger Role in Helping States Reduce the Number of Children Placed Solely to Obtain Mental Health Services," documented the placement of children by their parents in child welfare or juvenile justice systems in order that these children could receive mental health services. A March 2002 report by the House Government Reform Committee, "Incarceration of Youth with Mental Health Disorders in New Mexico," found that youth are frequently kept in juvenile detention centers because of a lack of suitable mental health treatment services, and that New Mexico's Medicaid program does not provide adequate mental health services to children. To view the GAO report, click here; to view the report on New Mexico, click here.

The House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security recently convened a hearing on the "Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act," which authorizes federal grant money for collaborative efforts between criminal justice and mental health agencies to improve the response to people with mental illness in the criminal justice system. The act would target both adults and juveniles. Click here to find out more about the hearing and legislation.